Colleen paused, took a long sip of her coffee. “We got an emergency call about an accident. There had been a big storm, and everyone was on high alert. I didn’t know it was Sammy until I got there. I drove up and it was…chaos. Sammy’s truck had jackknifed around a Prius. Cars and people were everywhere.”
Robin imagined the scene, the cold and chaos.
“At first I didn’t understand what I was seeing, then I realized that some of the huge pine logs on Sammy’s truck had fallen. One of them lay on top of the car, and trapped on the other end was Sammy.” Colleen closed her eyes for the space of a heartbeat. “Another team was working on the passengers of the car, so I ran to where Sammy was lying. Jensen Atwood and my boyfriend, Jack Stewart, and some of the other guys lifted the log off of Sammy’s legs.” Colleen shuddered. “His legs looked like meatloaf before it goes into the oven. We all knew we had to move fast or he would lose them.”
Robin’s heart sped up. She knew everything had turned out okay, but hearing about the accident from Colleen made the situation even more real. “So you called for the chopper?”
Colleen nodded, one jerk of her head. “He needed to get to Duluth, stat.” Colleen adjusted her ponytail. “When Bill, the pilot, got there, the storm started kicking up again. We thought the storm ceiling was high enough to allow us to fly, but we were hit with an updraft, and the pilot couldn’t recover. We went down in a field.”
“Oh my goodness. So scary.”
“You have no idea. Jack ran for help and I stayed behind.” Colleen’s wry smile took the bite out of her words. “Anyway, I had to perform a field surgery to alleviate the compartment syndrome developing in Sammy’s muscles. It saved his legs.”
“That’s amazing.”
Colleen raised her coffee cup in a mock toast. “It was shortly after that we hired Jae Washington as helicopter pilot.”
Robin stared at her friend in wonder. “You’re a bona fide hero.”
“Sammy is the real hero.” Colleen finished her coffee and set her cup on the low table near the couch. “What he’s gone through with physical therapy is amazing. No one thought he would keep his legs, let alone walk again.”
Seemed like her high-school science-fair partner held hidden depths.
“And you’ve moved back to Deep Haven for good?” Robin had a hard time imagining Colleen being back at home, as all she’d talked about in high school had been moving away.
“Yep. The volleyball queen is back.” Colleen gave a flip of her ponytail. “Seriously though. I’m glad to be home. My time in Minneapolis was fun, and I learned a lot, but there’s nothing better than living in a town that just gets you, you know?”
No, Robin didn’t know. She thought again of that prom dress, the pity, the misunderstandings. “I guess I don’t see Deep Haven the same way. Maybe it’s because I didn’t grow up here.” She hadn’t moved here until she was ten. After that awful year… She pushed the thought away, focused again on her friend.
“You were here for a long time. I think that counts. I guarantee that people here love you. People were always asking your grandma how you were doing in Paris. She was so proud to talk you up.”
Huh. She’d always thought everyone had forgotten about her once she moved away for school.
Colleen dug in the donut bag and came up with a napkin. She wiped at her fingers. “Listen, Deep Haven has always been a great place to find a second chance, but this time I wonder if it’s you who needs to give Deep Haven the second chance. People here could surprise you.”
Robin nestled her own cup next to Colleen’s on the table. “I’ll think about it.” She leaned over and gave her friend a quick hug. “Thanks for coming and for the donuts.”
“Anytime.” Colleen squeezed her back.
After walking Colleen to the door, Robin climbed the stairs and went down the hall into her bedroom. Grandma hadn’t changed much in here either. Before Robin had left for culinary school, she’d taken down her posters and some of her school memorabilia and helped Grandma paint the room a neutral beige. She’d left her own books on the shelves, her hand-painted duvet, and a few stuffed animals. The room now felt partly like her own and partly like a guest room.
Which was fine, because she was a guest here.
She opened up the closet and pushed back the clothing until she reached the back few items. Her hand brushed something silky and she pulled at it. Soon, her prom dress slipped into the light.
She held it out in front of her. Made from a deep-blue satin, the dress looked just like she remembered. Turning it around, she found the iridescent butterfly wings she’d sewn to the back. Shades of purple and blue glimmered as she moved the wings. They still sparkled after all these years.
She could still hear the whispers from that night. The popular girls had teased her about her wings for weeks after the dance.
In fact, only one person other than her grandparents had told her that she looked anything other than “weird.”
Sammy.
His words to her that night echoed through her heart.Wow, Robin. You look amazing. Ready to fly.His voice had been soft. Kind. Almost like he was in awe of her.
She’d certainly been in awe of him, dressed to the nines in his tuxedo… Robin shook herself and shoved the dress away. She shouldn’t be thinking about Sammy that way again.
Because as nice as a relationship with him sounded, it would mean staying in Deep Haven indefinitely. Yeah. No, thanks.
